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SH095 - Bhu Suktam PDF
SH095 - Bhu Suktam PDF
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CONTENTS
Introduction
5-23
Nigamanam
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NOTE: Please click the following link to enjoy the majestic rendition of the
are additional mantrams in this recitation that are not used in
VaishNava dinacaryAs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiCKf-Nz8yo
sadagopan.org
bhU sUkta verses by a veda ghoshTi, along with beautiful pictures. There
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. I>.
UsUm!
bhUsUktam
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sUktam is an eulogy to the infinite kalyANa guNams and nAmAs of BhUmi devi,
begged Her Lord VarAha PerumAn to reveal a laghu upAyam (easy to practice
means) for uplifting Their children suffering in samsAram. Her Lord responded
with alacrity and used His devi as an excuse (vyAjam) to bless the baddha
jIvans with two auspicious Slokams known as VarAha carama Slokams. The
meanings and commentaries on these two Slokams are assembled as the 37th
eBook in www.ahobilavalli.org and 80th e-book in www.srihayagrivan.org
Swami Desikan also composed a stuti with 33 Slokams to celebrate the
vaibhavam of BhUmi PirATTi and named it as BhU stuti. (This stuti has been
released as eBook # 2 in www.sundarasimham.org). This stuti has many echoes
of BhU sUktam. In one of the Slokams of BhU stuti, Swami Desikan states that
the living beings of this world are the object of mercy (anukampA) of BhUmi
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devi and get nourished through Her blessings. Swamy Desikan also points out
that it is not only the cetanams that get nourished by Her compassion but Her
Lord SrIman nArAyaNan also gets nourished by association with her (mAdhavi!
tvat sangamAt haricandana: bhavati labdha posha:) and states that Her
energized Lord goes about performing the many duties praised by the hundreds
of branches of the Vedic tree. Our Lord indeed gets His nourishment to
perform His duties such as jagat srshTi and rakshaNam. Swamy Desikan also
says that among the five elements (PrthvI, water, Agni, Vaayu and ether), only
PrthvI, the amSam of BhU devi has the five qualities such as taste, fragrance,
shape, touch and sound (rUpa, rasa, gandha, Sabdam and sparSam). The rest of
the four panca bhUtams have at best one or two of the five attributes only; as
a result, BhUmi devi is the embodiment of mighty riches (Vasumati,
VasundharA). Swamy Desikan reminds us that BhUmi devi has many other names
by which her ananta kalyANa guNams are celebrated (anyAni ca nAmAni anya
vimukhAni abidhAna vrttyA tava anubhAvam kathayanti). Some of these names
besides PrthvI, Vasumati, KshamA and ViSvambarA are: sarvam sahA, avani,
acalA, vipulA, anantA and daridhrI.
Swamy Desikan instructs us that She is the first among the VyAhrtis following
PraNavam (akAra vAcyan, BhagavAn) that is recited before performing
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states that BhUmi PirATTi is beyond the words of praise (vAcAm abhUmi) and
yet She is easy to approach (bhUmi: asi) by the devotees, who seek Her
protection. She has immense power over Her dear Lord and intercedes
successfully on behalf of Her children suffering from the ills of tApa trayam.
dAsan,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
NOTE: Please click the following link to enjoy the majestic rendition of the
sadagopan.org
bhU sUkta verses by a veda ghoshTi, along with beautiful pictures. There
are additional mantrams in this recitation that are not used in
VaishNava dinacaryAs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiCKf-Nz8yo
sadagopan.org
bhUmi devi tAyAr with SrI Oppiliappan in sesha vAhanam - tiruviNNagaram
(Thanks: www.oppiliappan.org)
6
. I>.
UsUm!
bhUsUktam
. hir> Aaem!.
UimURa *aEvRir[a=Ntir]< mihTva,
%pSwe te deVyidte=imadma*ayadxe.
|| hari: om ||
Meaning:
Oh BhUmi PirATTi! You are called BhUmi because you are rich in all kinds of
wealth. You are vast in Your breadth and length, lofty through Your vaibhavam
and are resplendent and glorious in the milky way as well in all the space that is
desired by all! Oh Devi, whose source (mother) is 'aditi' implying a good force
as opposed to the evil force as You are ever ready to help us by being nearby,
because of your unlimited compassion (nirhetuka-dayA) and your ever-forgiving
attitude (aj~nAta-nigraha). Oh Devi who cannot be split by anyone! In the
middle of You between the sky and the earth, I invoke you through AdhAna
agni, who can consume the offered havis.
Comments:
Oh BhUmi devi! You are immeasurable in Your dimensions. It is not possible to
assess Your expanse. You shine forth in a manner that is respected by every
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nourishes us.
Meaning:
With His rays, the radiant Sun comes to our side like the food giving protective
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Mother and blesses us with the fields rich in crops and ascends to the sky and
blesses us from there with the rain like the Father who nourishes us.
Comments:
In the 12th Slokam of BhU stuti, Swamy Desikan refers to the dhana dhAnya
samrddhi attained by the jantus, which become the objects of affection of
BhUmi PirATTi (bhUteshu yat tvat abhimAna viSesha pAtram, tat eva posham
bhajati). The three rainfalls in a month, the abundance of foods from crops are
made possible from the performance of various soma yAgams by learned
srautis. One such soma yAgam among the seven is athirAthram, which is a
twelve day long yAgam done for loka kshemam. Such a yAgam is taking place
from April 4-15, this year (2011) at Panjal, a Vaishika village near Trisoor,
thirty five years ago. Please enjoy reading about the details of the preparation
for this rare yAgam and the meticulous planning to perform it in the
sampradhAyic way at http://wn.com/athirathram2011 (Item 3 to 5 are in
English).
Meaning:
With the movement (sancAram) of the sUryan, the world shines with light for
thirty nAzhikais (12 hours). May my speech in the form of eulogy reach Him as
He moves rapidly in the sky! Oh Lord Preceptor sUrya! May Thou chase away my
aparAdhAms and blemishes with the lustre of Your rays! May You be cool to me
and favour me with health for eloquence in speech and May Thou accept the
havis offered by me through Your jvAlais!
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Kerala, India.. The last time the athirAthra yAgam was performed at Panjal was
Comments:
The upcoming fifth mantram will refer to the close relationship between Agni
and sUryan and the links of the sAdhaka to both. One of the Rg veda mantrams
captures these links between the three (Rk I.1.7):
upa tvAgne dive dive doshAvastardhiyA vayam; namo bharanta emasi
Sage Aurobindo provides the meaning for the above Rk:
To Thee day by day, O Agni, in night and light, we by the thought come bearing
our submissions (offerings).
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During the day (light), it is the Sun, who transfers His radiance to Agni during
the night.
Meaning:
His (sUryans) lustre spreads from morning to evening, in between the earth and
the sky and moves inside and out through the vital airs and invigorates as a lifegiver by ( Bhumi) Devi's grace. He reveals the great world of svargam for those
dear to Him.
Comments:
The world perceptible to human kind is dividable into three spheres:- Earth,
space and sky.
A form of Fire (agni) is recognized in each of the spheres. His names are Agni
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in this world, Vaayu in the intermediary space/world and sUryan in the sky/
AkASam. When contemplated together, one universal fire principle emerges as
PrajApati (the Lord of Progeny). Agni, Vaayu and sUrya come from this totality,
PrajApati. The chAndogya mantrams (4.17.1-3) attest to the origin of the three
(Agni, Vaayu and sUryan): The Lord of progeny, for the sake of the world,
entered into meditation (dhyAna). From the heat (born of His thought) the
essence of the three worlds/spheres sprang forth. From Earth came Fire, from
space, wind and from the sky came the Sun. The above BhU sUkta mantram
refers to this relationships among the three spheres and the Lord of Progeny,
the Lord of all.
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Meaning:
Oh sUrya! Out of the extreme anger (fury) born out of my enmity/poverty, I
might have slipped in my ArAdhanam for You. Oh fire god! By your
industriousness/entrepreneurship, You sow the seed and pour water for the
Earth to grow! (agnerApa: adbhya: prthivI - taittirIyopanishad). From now, I
vow to eulogize You in a way that will please You. Please accept our worship as
well done, accept it and please be more effulgent again! (according to
scriptures, the sun's brilliance is transferred to the fire from the evening
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Comments:
The usage of the powerful word manyu in this mantram reminds us of the
upAkarmA, where we do the kAmokArshIt manyorakArshIt mantra japam to
seek pardon for our many trespasses.
Meaning:
Because of your anger from which emanated the earth and grew, May you
sustain it! May the vasus, rudrAs, AdityAs and ViSvadevAs come together and
take the collective responsibility to return to me my bhagavat bhakti that I
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Comments:
After paying tribute to the power of sankalpa Sakti of the Lord to create and
next protect what was created, the sAdhakan begs for the restoration of
bhagavat bhakti, which he discarded in anger. He repents now and seeks the
help of the ashTa vasus, ekAdaSa rudrAs, the twelve AdityAs and the universal
gods (viSva devA-s) for the restoration of that lost bhakti.
Meaning:
She might be addressed by Her many names: medinI, devI, VasundharA,
VasudhA, VaasavI (as indrA as a representative, activates) but She is for sure
with Brahma varcas (spiritual splendour) and is the ear, eye and the mind of the
pitrs (manes).
Comments:
Swamy Desikan's BhU stuti Slokams provide the meanings for the many names
of BhU devi and salutes the doctrines linked to BhU devi as the divine consort
of the Lord (the second e-book in the Sundarasimham series, http://
www.sundarasimham.org).
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Meaning:
The goddess of Earth (Mother Earth) is pregnant (En-ceinte) with the whole
universal gold egg, as the best creator and the best sustainer.
Comments:
The definition for the nAmA, bhUmi in taittirIya brAhmaNa is: That, which
became. She is the creator of all the wealth (vasu-s) for the created beings as
Vasumati and She is the sustainer of them too.
Meaning:
May you reach and reside in my tongue to make it truthful! You (She as the
Mother Earth) comprise of all the seas and hence You are called 'samudravatI',
and You are named 'sAvitrI' since You are associated with the Sun by Your
wonderful brightness. You are our presiding deity benevolent, self-luminous and
a benign care-taker, day and night.
Comments:
This is a moving tribute to BhUmi devi by the mantra-drashTA. BhUmi devi with
the oceans as Her garland (samudravatI) and as one of the three vedic hymns
to the Sun as sAvitrI is saluted here.
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Meaning:
You are the great Mother Earth (who bears everything without a grudge or
murmur!) established on a firm-footing (on His side in standing posture - ninRa
tirukkOlam - and on the horn of the great boar, varAha) on the top of every
creation and fearlessly in every sacrifice (as also like yaj~no vai vishNu:) thus
assuring the prapannAs complete protection from morbid and mundane fears
and never threatening the devotees like a tIkshNa-daNDa-dhara: (a tyrant/
dictator).
Comments:
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BhUmi devi is the saha dharma cAriNi of yaj~na VarAhan. All the vessels used
in the Yaj~nams are found in the different limbs of this Yaj~na VarAha mUrti.
As the consort of the Yaj~na VarAhar and as One who was rescued from the
prison of HiraNyAkshan by Her Lord, BhUmi devi has limitless bhakti for Her
Prabhu. She worships Her Lord at the uttara Kuru varsham with His mantram
and stotram (SrImad bhAgavatam: 5.18.33 and 5.18.39). Her namaskaraNams
are described by SrI NaarAyaNa BhaTTadiri in SrI nArAyaNIyam:
kincottareshu kurushu priyayA dharaNyA,
samsevito mahita mantranuti prabhedai: --- daSakam 21.7
Here, BhaTTadiri refers to Yaj~na VarAha mUrti being worshipped by His dear
consort BhUmi devi with powerful and glorious mantrams and stotrams (mahita
mantra nuti prabhedai:). BhUmi devi salutes Her Lord as omkAra rUpi, as One
understood through Veda Mantrams, as One whose svarUpam is defined by
Yaj~nam and kratu, as One whose limbs house big yaj~nams, as One who is
Karma Suddhar and as One of the form of the three yugams.
Wherever there is a Yaj~nam, Yaj~na VarAhan is present as the Yaj~na pati
with His patni, BhUmi devi. He performs the Yaj~nam as yajvA for those who
are unable to conduct that Yaj~nam. He also acts as Yaj~nAngan and helps
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Meaning:
She is the consort of the leader (indra), pervading everywhere (omnipresent)
and the divine river (mandAkinI/gangA) here on the earth, thus purifying the
errant/erring souls. She is full of movement like air, brisk and breath of
everyone to be alive. she reclines on the water (payodhi), holds the riches in
abundance associated with the goddess of fortune. You are truly alive, on the
top of the earth all around.
Comments:
Here is another mantram full of poetic splendor as conceived by the MantradrashTA.
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upendran is a name for VishNu. indirA therefore is the name of MahA LakshmI
(indra patnI). Like Her Lord, She has vyApti, the pervasive presence
everywhere (vyApini). He is saluted as antar bahiSca tat sarvam vyApya
nArayaNa: sthita:. She is pure and precious like the celestial rivers
(surasaridha) and destroys the sins of errant souls. She is dynamic in movement
like the fast flowing winds (vAyumatI) in the antariksham. Her Lord is jala
Sayanan and She is therefore jala Sayani and seeks the ocean as Her abode
(jala sayanI). As a
abundance of wealth along with SrI devi, the other consort of SrIman
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nArAyaNa.
mahIm devIm!
SrI bhUmi devi tAyAr and SrI Oppiliappan - tiiruviNNagaram
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Meaning:
We salute BhUmi PirATTi (mahIm devIm), the consort of VishNu; we salute
that mAdhavI, who is dear to Maadhavan (Her Lord ) and who is the dearest
friend of LakshmI devi. Our salutations are to BhUmi PirATTi, who has
vAllabhyam (vaSIkaraNam) over Her Lord, acyutan.
Meaning:
We worship Her by knowing Her as One who (wields the bow and looks also like
a bow, lean in the middle) is adorning the bow. For that purpose we meditate
upon the One who blesses us with all success (sarva siddhi). May that dharaNi
dharA/BhUmi devI, prompt us for that meditation! (We worship Her for the
sake of worship - sAttvIka tyAga)
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Meaning:
As a Mother, she carefully listens to all our appeals for ever and she is the
hidden and holy river of nectar; and as a bhaktA, aDiyEn never misses hearing
Her words of solace and being comforted by being near Her.
Meaning:
Let us all pray to this Goddess of Earth, the consort of Lord VishNu especially
in sacrifices (yaj~na) by offering the oblations of food (havis) which will in turn,
come back to us as Her grants. Lord VishNu with the gigantic stature (by
incarnating as trivikrama) treaded the three steps (the great strides) and
measured the fourteen worlds inclusive of the Earth (mahIm prthivIm) and the
sky (divam and antariksham).
tCae[Eit v #CDmana,
pu{y aek< yjmanay k{vtI.
. hir> Aaem!.
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Meaning:
The Goddess of Earth thus is paying utmost attention faithfully to the
devotees' prayers with a great care and involved interest sans pains and
transfers the holy eulogies to make the Lord, our Master hear and bless us
(plays the role of purushakAratvam)
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nigamanam
In all the above bhUsUkta mantrAs, the underlying current is that Goddess
Mother Earth is in tune with every aspect of Lord SrIman nArAyaNa and
worshipping Her amounts to (is as good as) worshipping Him directly! Let us
pray to Goddess kshamA (with Her attitude of patience/forbearance with us).
hari: om!
SrI bhUmi devi sameta SrI SrInivAsa parabrahmaNe nama:
NOTE: Please click the following link to enjoy the majestic rendition of the
bhU sUkta verses by a veda ghoshTi, along with beautiful pictures. There
are additional mantrams in this recitation that are not used in
VaishNava dinacaryAs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiCKf-Nz8yo
22
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SrI bhU varAha perumAL - Kalahalli, Karnataka (Thanks: SrI L Sridhar)
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